Diocese of Clonard (Part 1)

The Catholic Heritage Association had a great privilege to make a first pilgrimage to St. Finian's Church, Clonard.

The history of the See of Clonard, subsumed into the Diocese of Meath, is extensively set out in Fr. Anthony Cogan's The Diocese of Meath Ancient & Modern (Published: Dublin, 1862 by John F. Fowler):

"There were anciently eight episcopal sees in the present diocese of Meath viz Clonard, Duleek, Kells, Trim, Ardbraccan, Dunshaughlin, Slane and Fore. All these dioceses except Duleek and Kells were consolidated and their common see fixed at Clonard before 1152.

DIOCESE OF CLONARD

There are few places in Ireland with which so many remembrances are connected or which were so closely identified with the literary and religious glories of our native country as the ancient and far famed Monastery of Clonard. Slane was a great religious establishment in its day, so too were Duleek, Ardbraccan, Kells, Trim, Dunshaughlin and Fore. They were the centres of the various dioceses into which the ancient kingdom of Meath was subdivided. Eahan, Durrow, Fennor, Kilskyre, Trevet, Skryne, Dulane, Castlekieran, Donaghpatrick, Donaghmore, Lann Leire, not to mention other places were pillars of light in the war of religion with the powers of darkness. And in subsequent years the great abbeys of Bective, Athboy, Ballybogan, Beaubec, Drogheda, Meath side Kilmainhambeg, Lismullen, Navan, Newtown, Odder, Ballinamore, Kilbeggan, Mullingar, Multifernham and Tristernagh perpetuated the literary and religious renown of Meath, shed lustre on the Pale, and handed down through generations the sacred deposit of Faith. Yet over all these homes of sanctity above all these halls of science and learning towered like a colossal mountain the genius and piety of Clonard. Its schools rivalled for centuries those of Armagh, Bangor, Clonmacnoise and Lismore. It trained up some of the ablest scholars sent forth from its peaceful shades the greatest ornaments and lights and as an indication of the esteem in which it was held as a proof of its recognized career of usefulness few abbeys were more frequently plundered bore more vivid traces of the cupidity and Vandalism of the ruthless Scandinavian or were more generously rebuilt and reendowed by the faithful and grateful Irish than the great Abbey of Clonard.

Clonard indeed is gone. Lismore is gone. Armagh, Clonmacnoise, Bangor, Glendalough, Kildare, Devenish - all these ancient landmarks have been swept away. The hand of the spoiler has torn up these sanctuaries of the faith and charity of our fathers. Their halls are no longer filled, the door of hospitality is no longer open to the poor man the traveller or the wayfarer. Silence, the silence of the grave, reigns around these holy places where the cheerful laugh of youth the pious chant of the monks the sacred song and the holy sacrifice amidst incense and ceremony once resounded. All that the powers of this world could effect has been done. The monastery the gorgeous temple the abbey church have disappeared The abbey lands have been seized the patrimony of the poor was confiscated. As if to show the strength of God's word, the interposition of His providence and His merciful designs for the Irish nation all the external aids which the charity and philanthropy of past ages have conferred on religion were permitted by Him to be torn away."

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Kinnegad

The excellent website 'Buildings of Ireland' describes the Kinnegad Parish Church as follows: 

Detached Roman Catholic church on cruciform plan, built 1904-09, comprising four-bay nave, two bay transepts to east and west and a three-stage tower on square-plan with broached spire over, offset, to east end of entrance front (south). Single-bay single-storey gable-fronted entrance porch to the centre of entrance façade (south) and with a buttress to the southeast corner of the nave rising to a pinnacle over. Pitched natural slate roofs with decorative clay ridge tiles, raised verges with cut stone copping, cast-iron rainwater goods and cut stone cross finials. Iron Celtic cross finial to spire. Constructed of rock-faced limestone with ashlar limestone detailing. Paired pointed-arch headed lancet windows to the nave, separated by clasping buttress, with three lancet openings to gable ends of transepts. Two twin-light Geometric windows with hoodmouldings over to entrance front with quatrefoil window over to gable apex. Rose windows over pointed-arched door openings to east and west ends of transepts (south facing elevations). Attached tower has cusped lancets to first two stages with open belfry over. Open gablets with Geometric tracery to broached spire. Square-headed doorcase set in pointed-arched recess to entrance porch with timber double-doors flanked by paired marble colonnettes with carved stone panel above. Entrance porch flanked by cusped lancets with hoodmouldings over. Interior retains original marble altar goods and has stained glass windows by Mayer of Munich. Set slightly back from road in a prominent location in the centre of Kinnegad with parochial house (15316006) adjacent to north. Landscaped area to west with marble statue set on raised plinth, cast-iron gates and railings to east side of church. Former Roman Catholic church on cruciform to the rear (north), now roofless.

Appraisal A substantial church, which retains its early form, character and fabric. This church was built to designs by T. F. McNamara (1867-1947), a noteworthy architect of his day. McNamara also designed the Roman Catholic church in Castletown Geoghegan (1885) and completed the new Roman Catholic church in Ballynahowen (1902), amongst other commissions. The church in Kinnegad is built in a subdued Gothic Revival-style, which was rather old fashioned for the date of construction. This church impresses principally with its scale and it dominates the centre of Kinnegad. The combination of the rock-faced walls and the ashlar window and door surrounds, creates textural variation. The severity of the lancet windows is softened by the addition of rose windows to both transepts and the Geometric tracery to the entrance facade. This mixture of window styles, along with the ornate entrance door, adds an artistic quality to the church's façade. The interior retains the original altar fittings, some good quality mosaic tiling and is well lit by the stained glass windows by Mayer of Munich. This church replaced an earlier Roman Catholic church in Kinnegad, built c.1820, the roofless shell of which can still be found a short distance to the north behind the parochial house. The remains of this modestly scaled former church to the rear adds considerably to this composition and it provides an interesting contrast with the present edifice in terms and scale and decoration, reflecting the increasing power, wealth and influence of the Roman Catholic church in Ireland throughout the nineteenth century. The present church building occupies a prominent location on Main Street and, together with the landscaped area to the west side of the church and in front of the parochial house, makes an important contribution to the townscape in this location. The present church was built on the site of a former market house (map 1838).